There are some BPs, including pastors, who say that the doctrine of VPP contradicts our Church Constitution 4.2.1. Is this perception true? Let us examine Constitution 4.2.1.
Constitution 4.2.1 states, “We believe in the divine, verbal, and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures in the original languages, their consequent inerrancy and infallibility, and as, the Word of God, the Supreme and final authority in faith and life.”
The meaning of words—”divine” – it is from God; “verbal” – “words”; “plenary” – “complete or all”; “inspiration” – “God breathed”; “Scriptures” – “the Bible”; and “original languages” – “Old Testament in Hebrew and Aramaic and New Testament in Koine Greek.” Combine them all together we have “all the words of God in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek are divinely God breathed.” This is the process of inspiration which took more than 1,500 years to complete. To seal the case tight and beyond reasonable doubt, as this doctrine of inspiration was under attack in the early and mid 1990’s the defenders of God’s perfect Word added the words “inerrant and infallible”. The word “inerrant” means “without mistakes” and the word “infallible” means “incapable of making mistakes.” In other words the Bible is perfect to the very jot and tittle in the original languages because it is inspired by God Himself. As such it is the Word of God and every Christian’s supreme and final authority in faith and life.
The place of the Constitution in relation to God’s Word—The Constitution is our guide and never to be equated with or placed above the Word of God. The Constitution is the servant of the Bible and not the other way around. The Bible remains constant and forever the same whereas the Constitution can be changed for the defence of God’s Word and the protection of God’s people. Hence in the Constitution, provision has been made for such a change in Article 23. This change is important as the Word of God comes under constant and continuous attack by the Evil One. He will never stop attacking God’s Holy and perfect Word. Statements in our Constitution have to be improved upon and restated from time to time in order to ward off these attacks for the protection of God’s flock.
Today one of the latest attacks on the perfect Word of God is that the God who has breathed out His perfect Word perfectly did not preserve the same perfect Word (in the original languages) for His people. What this proposal it means that every Bible has mistakes whether it is in the original language or in other languages. It also propounds that all other languages are translated either directly or indirectly from the original languages. “Since God did not preserve His perfect Word for us we have an errant and fallible Bible today!” is the claim. “But don’t worry we have a Bible which is 99 percent accurate. In names of places and people, and numbers, there are mistakes!” The question is: how do they know that there are mistakes in the Bible? They have not seen the original. No one has! They claim that throughout the ages the scribes corrupted the Word of God when they copied them! Well, let us compare all the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew texts together and we will know. All the words that are the same are preserved and the rest are mistakes. Someone compared all the existing Greek New Testaments and found that only about 65 % are the same, the rest are different! There is no basis for anyone to tell a child of God: “Do not worry, the Bible that you have in your hands is not perfect but the mistakes are minor (ranges from about 1 to 3 %) and these mistakes do not affect any doctrines and definitely not your salvation.”
What small comfort, if any at all, can these fallible men give to someone whose soul is at stake?! He will either end up in Hell or in Heaven based upon the teachings of God’s perfect Word. They want him to believe in their word, the word of sinners, and that this Bible that he reads, memorizes and meditates upon has mistakes? “Show me one verse in the Bible” is what I would demand as this church believes in Sola Scriptura (only Scripture), does it not? Show me a verse in the Bible which says that God did not preserve His perfect Word and that the Bible has mistakes! They would not be able to because they regard the doctrine of God’s preservation of His Holy Word as a theory! Since they cannot demonstrate from the Bible that their teaching is true, then their attack on the Bible is theory! TRUTH BE TOLD, IS IT THEN NOT TRUE THAT THE DENIAL OF THE DOCTRINE OF VPP IS A REJECTION OF CONSTITUTION 4.2.1? Their position of rejecting the doctrine of VPP says that the perfect Word of God is lost and all the Bibles we have today have mistakes! Constitution 4.2.1 has been rendered meaningless and made completely null and void by their rejection of VPP!
CONSIDER THIS —These people who reject the doctrine that God has preserved His perfect Word perfectly believe that God is perfect, that Jesus Christ is perfect, that the Holy Spirit is perfect, God has inspired for His people a perfect Bible, and that everything that Jesus did when He walked on the earth was perfect! BUT PRAY TELL, WHERE DO ALL THESE PERFECT DOCTRINES COME FROM? ALL THESE PERFECT DOCTRINES ACCORDING TO THEM COME FROM A BIBLE WITH MISTAKES?! Jesus says in Matthew 7:17-18, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” But these who reject the doctrine of VPP claim that it is possible for a corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit! I would believe the words of Jesus Christ rather than any man on planet earth.
In short the claim is limited inerrancy and limited infallibility! This was the same attack that our fathers defended against when they came out with the above statement 4.2.1 on the Doctrine of Inspiration! Now it is coming back full circle.
The doctrine of VPP is Congruent with Constitution 4.2.1—the doctrine of VPP is based upon God’s Holy Word. It is not a theory as some have surmised and stated in derogatory terms. Psalm 12:6-7, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psalm 19:7-9, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” Psalm 119:89, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” [See also Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33]. Dr George Skariah in his doctoral dissertation found that there are over 50 passages in the Bible that teach the Doctrine of Preservation.
The Doctrine of Inspiration teaches us that God used sinful men to write for us the Word of` God. No one knows the process of inspiration for how can sinful men produce perfect words? We believe the doctrine of Inspiration because God’s perfect Word says so. We believe it not because we are convinced by empirical evidence or by science or because we know the process! It is by the providential hand of God that these words may contain the characteristics of the people who wrote them. [For example Paul, John and Peter used different vocabulary and sentence structures when they wrote] but the end results are not the words of men becoming the word of God but that these were the very God breathed inspired and perfect Words of God, every jot and tittle.
The Doctrine of Preservation is the same. We believe every doctrine in the Bible by faith. We do not know the process of creation and how God can create something out of nothing but believe it because the Bible says so. Likewise, we do not know and do not need to know the process of preservation to believe that the same God who gave us the perfect Word also preserved the perfect Word, perfectly.
This is no small matter. This is the watershed issue of fundamentalism today! The doctrine of the perfect Bible at Inspiration and Preservation is a very cardinal doctrine. Every other doctrine found in the perfect Bible stands on this doctrine! Remember the words and warning of the LORD in Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”
Constitution 4.2.1 teaches us that God has inspired for His people His Word which is perfect to every jot and tittle. The doctrine of VPP teaches the same, that the Word of God we have today has been preserved by God Himself throughout the ages and is also perfect to every jot and tittle. Our Church Constitution mentions a book known as the Westminster Confession of Faith [WCF] in 4.1. This Confession covers and explains other doctrines that Calvary Pandan believes in which includes the doctrine of preservation, WCF Chapter1. Part VIII states, “The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them. But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God who have right unto, and interest in, the Scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of God, to read and search them, therefore they are to be translated into the language of every people unto which they come, that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope.” [emphasis added].
The doctrine of VPP is taught in our Constitution and it not a new doctrine. It is as old as the Bible itself. What we have today is a new attack. Christians need to be warned and protected against such attacks. All faithful pastors and shepherds of God must believe in the doctrine of VPP if they truly love God’s flock placed under their care.
There is therefore no contradiction between Constitution 4.2.1 and the doctrine of VPP because they are the two faces of the same biblical coin! AMEN.